Two people killed when a helicopter leased by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department crashed Wednesday night have been identified.
The pilot, retired Glendale police Officer Jeff Steele, 48, and mechanic Marc Hansen, 59, were both employed by Airwest Helicopters LLC, a Glendale aviation company.
Steele was a 25-year veteran of the Glendale Police Department, retiring in 2011. He was a certified flight instructor and had been assigned to the Cochise County Aviation Program since its inception in May.
Hansen was also a helicopter and airplane pilot and veteran of the U.S. Navy.
The copter, Cochise Air, was returning to the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport about 7 p.m. after routine maintenance in Phoenix when the leasing company told the department it had lost contact with the aircraft, Carol A. Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department, said in a news release.
Officials traced the pilot’s cellphone, which narrowed the search to an area south of Interstate 10 just outside of Benson, Capas said. Benson is about 50 miles east of Tucson.
Tracking software was activated and deputies as well as crews from the Benson Fire Department began a search.
Benson Fire Department officials found the helicopter about 9:20 p.m. Both occupants were dead at the crash site, the release said.
Agents from the National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived in Benson on Thursday and are investigating the crash, Capas said.
“This news leaves me personally, and this organization, with a heavy heart because of the tragic loss of two incredible lives. We have worked closely with this company and these two individuals since receiving Cochise Air, and knowing that they are considered part of the Sheriff’s Office family makes this so much harder,” Sheriff Mark Dannels is quoted as saying in the release.
“We send our condolences out to the families of two people who will truly be missed,” he said.
In May, Cochise County officials unveiled the $1.5 million law enforcement helicopter program designed to aid police and sheriff’s deputies, according to Star archives. The one-year exploratory program was funded by a private foundation.
A pilot and a mechanical crew are assigned to the Sheriff’s Department as civilian employees, the release said. The aircraft was housed in a hangar at the Sierra Vista airport.
